The number of Florida voters who disapprove of Gov. Rick Scott has more than doubled,
pushing him from a positive 35 - 22 percent job approval February 2 to a negative 35 - 48
percent approval in a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters also say 53 - 37 percent
that his state budget proposals are unfair to them.

By 78 - 20 percent, voters say Scott's order that newly-hired state government workers
undergo drug testing and that those already on the job be spot-checked is a good idea.

A proposal working its way through the Legislature that would end the government's
practice of collecting union dues from state workers is a bad idea, voters say 47 - 43 percent.
But voters support 74 - 22 percent the provision of that same bill which would require unions to
get individual members' approval before using dues payments for political purposes.

Voters disapprove 57 - 39 percent of a new law that will tie teachers' pay to student
performance on standardized tests, and split 47 - 47 percent on the part of that law that would
eliminate tenure for public school teachers hired after July 1.

"While his approval rating is unchanged, Gov. Rick Scott's disapproval rating has jumped
from 22 percent to 48 percent, perhaps not surprising given the magnitude of the changes he is
proposing," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Today, Scott is a four-letter word to many Florida voters, but political popularity can change
with time. The experience of Scott's predecessor, Charlie Crist, who had 70 percent approval
ratings at this point in his tenure, shows how fickle public opinion can be."

"Nonetheless, the fact that Scott is as unpopular as the State Legislature, which has a
47 - 35 percent disapproval rating, is evidence of the depth of his problem. It is exceedingly rare
for an unindicted governor or president to ever be seen as poorly by the electorate as his
legislature or Congress," said Brown.

Voters disapprove 55 - 36 percent of the way Scott is handling the budget. They say
52 - 41 percent that Scott should not have pledged to balance the budget without raising taxes
and by 64 - 24 percent they say he will not be able to keep that no-tax pledge.

Voters prefer 65 - 29 percent not raising any taxes and balancing the budget only through
spending cuts, rather than raising some taxes in order to reduce the number of spending cuts.

"The one piece of good news for Gov. Scott seems to be that voters agree with his no-
new-taxes strategy," said Brown. "Actually, there's another piece of good news: He has almost
four years left to turn around public opinion."

Scott's problems run deeper among women, who disapprove of the job he is doing
55 - 26 percent, than among men who approve 45 - 41 percent. He gets a 58 - 25 percent
approval among Republicans, but Democrats disapprove 74 - 12 percent and independent voters
turn thumbs down 48 - 33 percent.

By 49 - 44 percent, voters say Scott's plan to cut $2 billion in property and business taxes
is a bad idea.

"One key metric that Scott will need to turn around if he is to be successful politically is
voter perception that his proposed budget is unfair to them," Brown said. "Men are split, saying
46 - 44 percent it is unfair but women find it unfair by 59 - 30 percent."

"It would be rare that a governor who is perceived by the electorate as unfair gets re-
elected. A total of 95 percent of Florida voters say the state's budget problems are very or
somewhat serious. They know something has to be done, but they want someone who treats them
fairly in that process."

From March 29 - April 4, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,499 registered voters with a
margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as
Governor?

TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in
Florida today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat
dissatisfied or very dissatisfied?
(*combined High also 63% Sep 2004)

16. What do you think about the cuts in state spending that Governor Scott has
proposed in order to balance the state budget? Do you think Scott's cuts in
state spending go too far, not far enough or are they about right?

TREND: Do you think Rick Scott will be able to keep this pledge or not?

Apr 6 Feb 2
2011 2011
Yes 24 26
No 64 58
DK/NA 12 15

21. Governor Scott wants to cut about 2 billion dollars in property and business
taxes to make Florida more attractive to businesses and attract jobs. Others
say the state can't afford to lose the revenue. Do you think these tax cuts are
a good idea or a bad idea?

TREND: Governor Scott wants to cut about 2 billion dollars in property and
business taxes to make Florida more attractive to businesses and attract jobs.
Others say the state can't afford to lose the revenue. Do you think these tax
cuts are a good idea or a bad idea?

Apr 6 Feb 2
2011 2011
Good idea 44 50
Bad idea 49 43
DK/NA 6 8

22. Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Scott's budget proposal
which cuts taxes and government spending:
A)Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts or
B)Taxes should be raised so that there will be fewer spending cuts.

26. The legislature is considering a bill which would ban public-sector unions
from using automatic payroll deductions to collect union dues and also would
require that those unions get individual member's approval before using their
payments for political purposes. How much have you heard or read about this
bill: A lot, some, not much or nothing at all?

28. The bill also would require that those unions get individual member's
approval before using their payments for political purposes. Do you think that
requiring individual member's approval before using payments for political
purposes is a good idea or a bad idea?